Sweetie Wrappers

Wrappers

Oh, youre a right one, George! Ought to give you a good dressing-down, but whos left to do it, and whats the point now, eh? Youve reached this age and learned so little!”

Old Mabel spat on the gravel at her neighbours feet and, leaning on her dodgy knee, shuffled off home. Shed said her piece; it was up to his own conscience now to keep him straight. If people couldnt teach him, perhaps fate would meddle.

Imagine the nerve! Sending your own mother off to a home! Wheres the decency? Claudia might be bed-bound, but hes her son, not some distant uncle! Makes your blood boil! If Mabel were fit, she wouldnt hesitate for a secondshed bring her mate home with her. But she couldnt…

Poor young Annie. A kind soul, certainly, but shes not a dray horse to pull the whole family along by herself. She stayed in the village, didnt go to college when her mum fell ill. Well, she did, then came back. Couldnt leave Mum and Gran. She helped, knowing full well it was all too much for Mabel. Just coping with herself was tough enough. Since breaking her leg two years ago, shed never quite recovered. As it was, she was struggling even before that.

Her younger daughter had offered to bring Mabel to the city, but she refused. Nowhere to go! Their flat is tiny, hardly enough room for four of them as is. Her son-in-laws a good man, bless him, but not exactly ambitious. Works his fingers to the bone but never gets ahead. Two kids now, and its a hard life. And Mabel, isnt much help anymore. She used to keep chickens, help the children, but now? Shes a burden… Annie gets cross when Mabel talks that way, but the truths hard not to face. Shes got no health and what strength she has vanishes each day. Just getting up in the morning is a battle. You lie there, eyes open, gathering up the broken bits of yourself like dust into a pan. Up you get! Off you go!

At least Annie, her granddaughter, dances about as light as a spring lamb. While Mabel gets her bearings, Annies dealt with the laundry, sorted out her mum, and dashed off to work. Sharp as ever! Shes always been that way.

Mabel had her eldest daughter, Annies mum, late, never expecting motherhood at all.

Her first husband never forgave her for not bearing children. Left her. Mabel grieved, but not for long. She knew he never really loved her. She burned for him, butno spark.

Back in the day, Mabel was a beauty. The brightest in the village. The local lads, of course, all chased after her. She kept her standards, waiting for love. Figured the one would turn up eventually. But he never did. Time passed, and Mabel stopped even glancing around. Head down, bearing her own mothers sharp words.

Fussy, are we? Youll die an old maid!

But when you just cant stomach the thought of settling with someone you dont care for…

Then a chap turned up from the service, staying with his grandparents in the next village over. Mabel didnt know him at all. Shed never seen him. He didnt go back to his parents but to his gran and grandad, for reasons only later revealed. He didnt talk about it.

Mabel saw Alex once and lost her head entirely. Fell in love…

He didnt waste time. As soon as he saw her, he sent for a matchmaker. Mabels mother was thrilledabout time too! Her daughters prospects had more than expired.

They had a grand wedding. Mabel was over the moon, so happy she couldnt think straight. She didnt even notice those hush-hush conversations at the tables. Only later, when her new mother-in-law took her hand and led her to a woman in a dark scarf with a pram, did Mabel realise something was up.

Shed noticed the woman when she first walked into the yard. When her mother-in-law gently nudged her towards the pram, Mabels breath caught. It was obvious.

Alex later told her hed left a fiancée behind to join the army and hadnt believed the timing when told hed fathered a son. His family said it didnt add up. Eventually, Alexs mother, pressed by nosy neighbours, paid a visit. There was little Alex, a baby in the cotspitting image! But it was too lateanother match had been made.

The girl, the mother of Alexs son, refused to have anything more to do with him. Didnt forgive the betrayal. She didnt know her mum had taken their child to her former fiancés wedding, only being told she was off to see her sister and show off her grandchild.

Why? Mabel asked, hand still on the pram, meeting the gaze of the tired woman.

So you know what sort of man youve married.

What use was that knowledge to her? She loved her husband. Whos perfect? We all make mistakes, dont we?

She never stopped Alex from seeing his son, but he didnt seem bothered. Quickly, Mabel learned Alex only really cared for himself. Others were there as a backdropit looked good.

He couldnt be faulted for much. Good provider, house always well-kept. But happiness? Somehow, it was missing.

Through their fifteen years, Mabel never felt warmth from her husband. He existed, but as if he wasnt there. The house echoed with emptiness.

She hoped having children would change thingsshe told herself it was all temporary. Maybe hed come around.

But then he offhandedly said to her one day that she wasnt a real woman for being childless, and Mabel saw her life was going nowhere. Whether you walked or stood still, nothing changed.

They split quietly. Not everyone noticed right away the Kruger family was no more. Only Mabel remained.

Alex left soon after they signed the papers. Handed her the house, apologised, but not fully forgiven.

Dont be angry. We both made mistakes, but I was the one meant to put things right.

Mabel never quite forgave him, but it lightened her heart a bit. If thats her fateplenty of looks, not much happiness. Not enough was doled out, it seems.

She lived alone a couple of years. Worked, held her head high, and ignored the village gossip. Times change! So what if her husband left? It could happen to anyone.

But it hurt, coming back to an empty house. She wanted to come home to someone.

It took a while before she got together with Nick. She checked him out for agesthey werent young. He was a newcomer, after all. Who knew what he might be hiding? Kept to himself, didnt socialise much. Fixed up his fathers old cottage and started gardening. Helpful if asked, but never sought help himself.

But he was all right. Quiet, polite. He started courting her.

Mabel had forgotten the feeling. If she was honest, shed never really known it. The first husband had given her flowers once; that was it. When she was besotted, she didnt care, but after that, who had time for romance?

Nick was thoughtful. Nothing grand, but never came empty-handed. And if he visited, hed fix something, lend a hand. Mabel figured life couldnt get worse, and by now the loneliness was howling. At least now she wouldnt be alone in her old age.

She had no expectations from this new marriage. But fate had danced its little dance and swept Mabel into a new chapter.

She didnt realise she was pregnant with her first daughter until five months in. Nothing ever came regularly for her, everything went awry, and she hardly noticed.

It was Claudia, her neighbour, who noticed something was different.

Youre expecting, arent you, Mabel! Claudia gasped, seeing her wobble in the sun.

Nonsense! How could I be? Ive always been barren.

My gran used to say its not always the womans fault, and doctors say so too. Sometimes both sides are to blame. Maybe you werent meant to have kids with Alex? Who knows, Mabel. Go into town and get yourself checked. Maybe theres hope?

When Mabel got back from the city, she was like a changed woman. Walked home beaming, shining like the sun, and everyone could see itthings were going to get better.

One daughter, then another, and the sun seemed to shine in their little home.

Mabel doted on her daughters, spoiling them with pretty frocks and ribbons. Always clean, always neat, though they were like all other childrenclimbing trees, splashing in puddles, swimming in the river. Mabel never scolded, instead filled a basin for washing, handed them soap, and taught them how to launder socks. If clothes tore, out came the sewing kit. If you dont know how, Ill teach you.

Nick passed away when their youngest got married. Hed gone to visit her in the city and never made it home, dying in a car crash.

Mabel was gutted. If not for her daughters, she might have followed him. But she pulled through. A year later, her eldest had young Annie, and life blossomed again.

Her grandchildren became her world. Her younger daughter lived far away, only coming during school holidays, but Annie was always nearby.

Annie grew up the spitting image of Mabel, with the same beauty and presence, yet even more stubborn. If she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her.

Mabel was pleased as long as Annie focused on her studies. But when Annie reached a certain age, things became difficult.

Shed fallen head over heels in lovewith their neighbour, George. He was five years older, practically a man, while Annie had just turned sixteen. What could she know? Yet she insisted she loved him and wouldnt listen to reason.

George paid her no notice. She was just the girl next doorstill a child. He already had someone else.

Lucy, the girl he fancied, was strikingnot a beauty, but stylish and confident, the best-dressed girl in the village. Her father spoiled her, his only joy. Yet Lucys pride outgrew her charms. If the world wasnt at her feet, her whole day was ruined.

At first, she kept George at arms length, weighing him up.

Then something strange happened.

Lucy had a boyfriend from another village, as spoiled as she was. He chased after her out of boredom, and she was happy to go dancing or wherever with him. Once, they rode his motorbike to the next village but never made it. No one knew what happened, but Lucy came home at dawn, battered and with a torn dress.

Only Mabel saw her slip past the row of beans in the early light. Mabel had gone to the garden before the heat set in. She watched Lucy walk by, never looking up, trampling straight over the beds.

A week later, there was a buzz in the villageLucys parents hurried her into a wedding. Not just any affair, but as soon as possible.

George was over the moon, but Claudia, his mother, was worried.

Mabel, somethings off here. How do I explain it to my son? He wont listen. Its their life, I know, but something pushed Lucy to someone new. Ive no right to judge. But Im sorry for George. He loves her, cant sleep for thinking. Just wasting away.

Mabel listened, nodded, and kept quiet. She told no one shed seen Lucy that morning. It wasnt for gossipshe had her own troubles at home.

Annie was inconsolable. She cried all day staring through the window at the neighbours wedding preparations, then curled up in bed, weeping silently.

Mabel tried everythingenticing her to go stay with her aunt in the city, hoping Annie would start anew, study, marry someday, and never have to see the boy she loved who had overlooked her. Mabel knew that even if she confessed all shed seennone of it would matter. George was…

But Annie refused to listen to her grandmother or mother. Her father was gone now; no one else held sway over her.

What was she hoping for? A miracle? That things might change? No one knew.

Annie waited till the wedding day, came along with her mum and gran, and shocked them by not crying for the first time in ages. She stood aside, not joining her friends, and eventually slipped away home.

Her mother noticed Annies absence almost immediately and ran after her, fearing the worst.

But Annie surprised her again. She packed a bag, hugged her mother and Mabel, and headed for the city. They cried, but comforted each other and decided to wait.

Time, they say, heals all.

But Annie didnt get time. Before she could even settle in, disaster struckher mother landed in hospital, never to walk out on her own again.

Again, Annie packed her case. What choice was there? Mabel couldnt cope alone, not in her condition.

Annies only dread was that George and his wife would be living next door. But luck, or fate, took pity on her: they had moved away straight after their wedding.

Annie unpacked, made the house comfortable, settled her mum as best she could, and got work at a local dairy farm. She had no qualifications, and in the countryside, jobs were scarce.

She was never shy of work, loved animals, and to make ends meet, started a smallholdingwhat else could she do?

Thats how they got by. Annie also helped Claudia, who had been struggling to cope since her husband died. Claudias son was far away, and rarely wrote. He sent money, but little news. She only knew Lucy had borne two childrena boy and a girlbut had never met her grandchildren. Lucy never returned to the village; George was always away, working as a lorry driver, rarely home, trying to earn a living. Claudia dreaded reading between the lines in his rare letters, sensing the hard times he never voiced aloud.

Perhaps it was anxiety for her son, perhaps it was just fate, but Claudia fell seriously ill. Annie managed to get her into hospital in the city, visited regularly, then wept all the way home when the doctors offered little hope.

Mabel wrote to George as soon as Claudia was hospitalised. Whether the letter went astray or something else, he didnt come. Not only thathe never replied at all. Mabel wrote again, then turned to Annie:

Hes abandoned his own mother. The cuckoo that nests at night sings louder than any… Oh, George! And I took him for a decent sort!

Gran! Wait a second. You always taught me never to tar someones name until youre sure. And even then, whats the point? Better to keep your soul clean. Let him answer to himself. What now?

I dont know, love. I truly dont. Never thought hed treat his mother like this. He was always so gentle, adored Claudia… Where does it go, eh?

Why do you call him wrapper, Gran?

Oh, thats an old story. Shows I never thought hed end up this way.

Tell me!

Whats there to tell? He was just a boy, six or seven. Back then, all the village children collected sweet wrapperswhole albums of them! But wrappers were rare. Money was tight, and sweets were a treat, only at Christmas or birthdays. If anyone collected wrappers, they kept them like treasure or traded carefully. Well… At the time, Claudia had two prize chickens, fancy sort, pure white with a sprig on their heads! She doted on them. Then, disaster struck. Georges best mate had a pedigree dogfull of beans, really wild. His father brought it from the city, said to be bred for the field, but who knows? Couldnt control it. It chased anything that moved. One day, George invited his mate round and the boy arrived with his dog. Feathers everywhere…

Oh Gran, really…?

Yes, Annie, both hens gone. Claudia cried her heart out. Of course she didnt shout at George, but she wouldnt speak for days. And do you know what George did?

What?

He gave away all his wrappers to another mate, the one whose father regularly went to London. George persuaded the lad to take him along next time as company, and emptied out his piggy-bank, savings for a new bicycle, and brought his mum another chicken, just like before.

Well done!

You see, Claudia wasnt thrilled just because her dream came true, chickens back in the run, but because her son showed real character. But where did that boy go, Annie? Eh? Mabel sighed, not letting her granddaughter argue.

What sort of son abandons his sick mother? How could he?

But a week after Claudia was brought home from hospital, after Annie arranged for her transfer with the help of the local nurse, George turned up. By then, Annie had figured out how to juggle care for two invalids. Shed settle her mum, then pop next door to Claudias. Mabel grumbled Annie was working herself into the ground, but how could she leave someone helpless? Claudia wasnt a stranger; she was Georges mum…

Annie was mopping the floor in Claudias cottage when a small boy dashed in, muddy shoes and all, and peered up at her:

Are you my mum?

The innocence and honesty of the question caught Annie off-guard.

Im the neighbour… George appeared in the doorway, hand on his daughters shoulder, and greeted Annie. Sorry I took so long. Max was in hospitalI couldnt leave him, and nowhere else for Millie to go.

What about Lucy? The question slipped out of Annie before she could stop herself.

Why should she care by now?

Shes gone. Left us. Ran off with her new bloke. Im on my own now.

But the children?

Youre right. Im not alone. What am I saying? Annie, is Mum asleep? He nodded towards the bed, crouched to remove his daughters boots.

Shes asleep. Worn out. She needs more rest now. The doctors say so. But I wish shed stir herself, your mum was always so active. Never sat still.

My joints are sore from all this lying about! Claudia shouted; Annie hurried off, as George was there, and she needed to get home.

She finished her chores, put soup and milk on the table for the kids, then left, forgetting even to say goodbye. She hadnt strength left for conversation.

Annie had thought that seeing George again after all this time, her heart would be at peace, but no… She was suddenly afraid. He wasnt that cheeky lad who lobbed a pebble across the low garden fence; she was no longer the shy girl blushing at a hello. Theyd changed. Grown up, though whether wiser, who could say? Different, for sure.

The next day, Claudia told Mabel, who hobbled in to see her, that she wanted to ask George to take her to a care home.

Mabel was outraged, charging out, summoning George and spitting at his feet before stalking off, not letting Annie get a word in.

Dont try to defend him! Hes a grown man. What sort of person puts his own mother out like rubbish… Mabel broke down in tears.

And Annie, still in her housecoat, ran out, slipped into her boots, and dashed over to Georges.

George! George! Where are you? She burst through the door, wild, furious, beautiful as spring itself. What dyou think youre doing? I wont let you send Auntie Claudia away! Not a chance! Go back where you came from! Well managedoesnt matter if I care for one or two. Well fit another bed in with Mum, so there! Oh, you! And I

She stopped, catching Claudia grinning through her tears, George smiling too.

Put your sword down, Annie! Claudia wiped her eyes. He wasnt going to send me anywhere! It was my idea. I told Mabel I didnt want to burden my boy. She just stormed off.

Im not going anywhere, Annie. Where would I leave my own mother?

Really? Annie asked, then spotted his packed bag. So whats that about then?

I need to go back, sort out work, collect my things. It may take a while. But Ive arranged for the nurse to check in on Mum while Im away.

At that, Annie stepped right up to him, looked him straight in the eye, and said:

No more dragging the children about! Theyre staying here. Ill mind them. Ill wait for you. Understand?

I do… George looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. How did I miss you all these years?

Get your eyes checked in town, just in case! Might miss something else… Annie scooped up his little girl, who grabbed hold of her legs. Lets visit Gran Mabel, shall we? Shes making pasties! Dyou like pasties? Good!

Years later, George would lead Claudia and his mother-in-law onto the veranda.

Come on, you lovely mums. Look at the deck chairs I brought from the city! Sit or lie, all in the fresh airjust what the doctor ordered!

Helping them settle, hed listen.

The little ones are up now. Annies not back yet. Ill go and check what the fuss is about.

Will Annie be home soon?

Shes got her last exam today. Said shed be one of the first to finishso shell be home soon.

A car would crunch to a stop at their gate, and the children, picking cherries from the big old tree for Gran Mabels next batch of jam, would tumble down shouting:

Mums home!

Annie, no longer that timid girl, would open her arms for her wild lot and wink at her husband:

Got a first!

Didnt doubt it for a second! George would nod, wandering indoors.

The twinsjust like their mother, too lively to wait for long. But that impatience, that firethey got from George.

Still full of wrappers, the lot of them.

And perhaps thats familya bundle of old hurts and sweet memories, mistakes and forgiveness. You hold each other together and learn that life is less about what youve lost, more about who you become, and how much love youre willing to giveagain and again.